Thursday, October 1, 2009

On the culture front

Somehow I find it hard to believe that when the U.S. Interests Section hosted a reception for Cuban cultural figures on Tuesday, it was “the first time in ten years” that dissidents weren’t invited to such a reception, as the BBC reports.(Madrid’s El Pais covers the event here.)

The dissidents aren’t being given the cold shoulder; just a week earlier, 15 dissidents were invited to the Interests Section to talk with a visiting State Department official.Human rights monitor Elizardo Sanchez attended and later compared the Obama Administration’s approach favorably with that of the European Union: “No one else, no European does that.”

Regardless, the real news seems to me to be that the artists attended at all, and that they felt they had a green light from the Cuban government to attend.As one told El Pais, “Before they would call you from the Ministry of Culture to advise you that dissidents were going to go, and you thought about it; now there were no messages.”

El Pais also reports that two Cuban musicians, Zenaida Romeu and Pable Milanes, have been given visas to travel to the United States to perform.

In other news, the New York Philharmonic will not be making its planned late-October performance in Havana.The New York Times reports that the U.S. government was ready to permit the travel of musicians and staff, but not that of donors who were making the trip possible.

3 comments:

Anonymous
said...

This might work as long as both sides (Cuban government and opponents) do not start getting jealous of each other. EL Pais article is pretty clear that the Cuban government dissuaded Cubans of contacts with the USINT personnel. All in all a positive development.

As far as the NY Philarmonic trip, shouldn't the donors support the trip even though they can not go at this time? Aren't prima donnas supposed to be performers not supporters?

"The dissidents aren’t being given the cold shoulder; just a week earlier, 15 dissidents were invited to the Interests Section to talk with a visiting State Department official."

Phil, sometimes your naivete exceeds all bounds. How would you feel if the U.S. embassy in Apartheid South Africa had held "separate but equal" events at which white South Africans were spared from being contaminated by contact with their black "inferiors?"

"Regardless, the real news seems to me to be that the artists attended at all, and that they felt they had a green light from the Cuban government to attend."

Wrong again, Phil. An Apartheid regime is delighted when a foreign embassy "behaves" by honoring the segregation laws imposed by the rulers. The Castro brothers must be laughing themselves hoarse right now as they savor the U.S. bowing to their scorn for the impudent Cuban non-persons who dare to claim that they have a right to freedom and human dignity.

On a limited basis, in the hope of generating positive change, I have no objection to cozying up to brutal regimes like Iran, Burma and Cuba as long as we do not forsake our fundamental commitment to human rights. The "Apartheid reception" at the Interests Section in Havanaa was a disgrace.

The Obama Administration obviously believes it can have it both ways. Play nice with the regime without abandoning the dissidents. What's ironic about it is that the anti-Bush is mimicking the Bush policy towards China -- and the losers before too long will be the dissidents.